Small Victories
by Meggie-Jolly
Summary: Inspired by the music video of the song Eisblumen by Eisblume. But in this case Aina and the Maelstrom won.


Jolly barely contained her sips as she carried Griffin in her arms. She kept mumbling his name, that she needed and loved him and that he couldn't just leave her as she floated them both up to the surface, so painfully slow. But she knew she couldn't go any faster, he wasn't a polliwog like her and his body couldn't handle the water pressure like hers could. So she had to carry him up slowly and hope he wouldn't drown.

Jolly had found him floating in the water when she came up from the quell of the Maelstrom after being defeated and loosing Munk. She had no idea what happened to Griffin and why he was in the water, unconscious. She also had no idea how long he had been without air. But she knew he was still alive.

She also know, that if she could get him to the strange island close to the Maelstrom, he could have a chance.

Well, island wasn't the right word. After all it was a mass of Sandstone embedded with an uncountable amount of shells and corral pieces. And with no visible connection to the bottom of the sea.

Munk and Jolly had visited it more then once during their training with prime father and they had ventured under the strange island as well. The magic was incredibly thick there and they had sensed a strand of magic that kept it in place, much ticker and stronger then the anchor chain under Aelenium.

But then again, the whole island was practically bursting with magic. Which was exactly the reason why she needed to bring Griffin there. With that kind of magic and the help of all the shells, she should be able to save him.

Gods she was grateful that her mussel magic had finally improved.

When they finally broke the surface it was raining dead fish. It didn't surprise Jolly, Munk and Aina had managed to open the Maelstrom significantly wider before it killed them both. But she wouldn't think about that now.

She decided to stay in the water for now, here she was faster and she could carry Griffin more easily.

But of course it was also dangerous. Who knew if all the kobalins where at the battle in Aelenium. And at least one creature from the Mare Tenebrosum was close by. But she had to risk it.

She tried to breath some air into Griffin's lungs and then swam as fast as she could towards the island, letting the magic guide her way.

Surprisingly enough she managed to make it to the island without any attacks.

She let out a sob of relive when she had finally managed to push Griffin up on shore.

She tried to breath for him again as well as get the water out of his lungs.

Then she picked him up again, no matter how exhausted she was, she had to get him to the center of the island, the part of her who was open to magic told her that.

So she did her best and carried him thru the never ending rain of dead sea creatures.

Eventually they did reach a spot that felt right to Jolly and it seemed like Griffin was breathing a bit more regularly now.

She carefully put him down in the bottom half of a huge shell that was embedded in the stone.

Quickly she assembled her own shells in a circle with it and sat down.

She concentrated more then she ever had as she reached into the shells with her mental fingers and pulled out their magic. She also drew from the magic of the island and it's shells and ended up with the biggest magic pearl she had ever managed to produce.

Again she closed her eyes and concentrated on the task at hand, replacing the water in Griffin's lungs with air and repairing all the damage he might have suffered.

She had never tried to heal anyone or anything with mussel magic before, but it had to work.

As she felt the magic flow into Griffin, she saw all of her favourite memories of Griffin before her inner eyes.

The first time she met him, when they were still just little kids, even before his hair had been in the braids.

Many fights and card games.

The time she saw him fighting with Walker and Buenaventure back in Port Nassau. She had told Munk back then that she couldn't stand him, but if she was honest with herself, that had never really been true.

A few days later, when they found him as a stowaway on the Carfax between all the pigs.

That memorable moment on the yards of the Carfax, when he had asked her if he could kiss her.

The sickening feeling only a little later when the mast in which he had been sitting had broken of and he had been gone as well as the time after, when she searched for him and saved him from drowning the first time. And of course what he had said to her on that island there.

The time on the islands and the horrific moments on the bridge to the Mare Tenebrosum.

All their moments in Aelenium together.

The way his hands on her back had felt as he worked on her tattoo and the nice things he had said to her back then.

And of course the way their first kiss had felt.

Then the way she had missed him when she stole the Carfax to find Bennon.

She had thought so often she would never see him again and then she had found him floating in the water. For a moment she had been sure he was just a hallucination from the water pressure and the exhaustion, but it was really him and she couldn't loose him.

She opened her eyes, cheeks wet from tears when a hand touched her leg. "Jolly…"

Griffin was awake! He was alive! She did it!

She scrambled over to him as he sat up. "Don't! Be careful, please lay back down."

He only shook his head and pulled her into his arms.

"Whatever you did, I feel better then ever." And he proofed it by finally kissing her again.

Another memory of him that she would never forget.

And enough to make her forget about her defeat, the Maelstrom, the Mare Tenebrosum and the danger her friends and the whole world were in, for just a few moments.


End file.
